The Archdiocese of New York announced that it is giving  $50,000 to help rebuild homes in Gaza once peace has been restored in that beleaguered area.

The money will be used by the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral support that is active in the historic but often unstable lands of the ancient Eastern Catholic churches, including the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe. Cardinal Dolan serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of CNEWA.

In April, Cardinal Dolan visited the Holy Land, and met with both Palestinian and Israeli leaders, assessing needs, and reviewing CNEWA relief efforts.  “For nearly 100 years, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association has worked to serve people of all faiths, or none at all, in some of the most troubled areas of our world. Those efforts will continue in a special way in Gaza, once the horror of the current conflict is resolved, which, please God, will be soon,” Cardinal Dolan said.

The check was presented to Monsignor Peter Vaccari, President of the CNEWA, during the taping of Cardinal Dolan’s Christmas Special for The Catholic Channel of Sirius XM.